Ghost blog

This blog was killed by google back in 2013. Since I had kept a back-up, I decided to let it wander as a ghost in the net.

All download links, although dead from long ago, have been removed.

7 Worlds Collide - The Sun Came Out (2009)

The tribute to Johnny Marr continues with his participation in the second album of Neil Finn's project, 7 Worlds Collide. Other participats are  Radiohead's Phil Selway and Ed O'Brien, Lisa Germano, KT Tunstall and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy among many others.
The offered upload is the two-cd edition.

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Dillard & Clark - The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark (1968)

There are some more posts for beloved artists that left this world during 2012, for whom I didn't find the opportunity to dedicate them a post (it was that bloody re-uploading project that kept me away for quite a long time). We'll continue with Doug Dillard, "one of the preeminent ambassadors of bluegrass banjo during the '60s and '70s, incorporating pop, folk, and country-rock material into his repertoire and supporting a wide variety of artists with those sensibilities" (quote from allmusic).

The related upload is his collaboration with Gene Clark of the Byrds (among others). Together they offered us one of the core releases of country-rock.

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Electronic - Electronic (1991)

Let's start a small tribute to Johnny Marr. It's not only that NME awarded him with the Godlike Genius award, hailing him as "not content with rewriting the history of music with one of the world's greatest ever bands, The Smiths, he's continued to push boundaries and evolve throughout his career, working with some of the best and most exciting artists on the planet." It's also that, after some decades as a band member in various projects or as a highly admired session musician, he's about to release his first solo album, "the Messenger". In the meanwhile Mojo's previous issue contained a brilliant cd with many of Marr's collaborations, which actually gave me the idea for this tribute; no Smiths albums should be expected though.

The first part of the tribute is about the group he formed with Bernard Sumner of the New Order. The offered upload is the group's first album release.

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Montrose - Montrose (1973)

Let's say goodbye to some of the artists that passed away withing 2012. Fist of all, we remember Ronnie Montrose an extremely talented guitarist, who, along with his band, gave us one of the best samples of 70's hard rock with the uploaded album; the band's line-up for this album consisted of a then-unknown Sammy Hagar on vocals.

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At The Drive In - Vaya (1999)

I need to expedite a little bit, since there are six more posts for 2012. This one is about the reunion of At The Drive In which is of course the reunion of the year (and for whoever will complain that this title belongs to the Stone Roses, read this older post). During their tour, they gave two shows for the Reading and Leeds festival. I wish I could be there for their return to the scene of the crime, but at least I still have some very vivid memories from their legendary show during the Carling weekend of 2000.

Now, I guess you all have the Relationship of Command lp, so I've chosen to upload Vaya instead, which I consider as their runner up best album.

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UB40 - Signing Off (1980)

This post is dedicated to the person of the year 2012. So, after the Time magazine here's the choice of the musictraveler. It's the person under the name Unemployed Anonymous. While I don't have a picture of his/ hers to show to you, we all know him/ her very well; he's/she's one of us, he's/she's us. It's him/ her that suddenly lost the ground beneath his/ her feat. It's him/ her that is now experiencing an extremely toxic work market where nobody is hiring people so he/she knows that the unemployment status will keep him/her company for a very long time. It's him/ her that faces many difficulties to find a daily meal for him/her and his/her family. It's him/ her that is depressed, shocked, ashamed, frustrated, low self-respected. It's him/ her that has lost his/ her hope that his/ her dreams have become a nightmare. It's him/ her that is only a number in the neo-liberal statistics (which number is growing rapidly and hits historic highs). 

The relevant upload is an album the covers of which are replicas of the UK's Unemployment Benefit (Form 40) attendance card. I chose this one, containing a heavy political agenda (and far away from the covers-of-famous-songs-using-polished-reggae style they followed some years later), although it competed very hard with the band's second album that contains the track One In Ten, a reference to the number of unemployed in the UK at that time; the song for my country should go something like "I am the 2.7 in ten..."

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Rapidshare problem is fixed

I just realised that from Jan. 15, it wasn't possible to download anything from rapidshare, unless the files were done public. So, there you go. Everything is available again. Enjoy!

Fionna Apple - When The Pawn... (1999)

You know, it's been some years now that all music magazines, websites, blogs etc. compete to present the earliest possible their list with the best albums of the year. This means that albums released during November and, moreover, December are not taken into account for these lists, while next year they are also not taken into account because they were released ... last year. If we continue like this the lists with the best albums will start being issued on August or something. Recently, Uncut presented a revised list with the best albums of 2011, and they tend to do so for 2012 as well. So, we could start reading the revised lists from all magazines; it would be an interesting year throughout if each month we would be reading about the revised list of 2004 or something. Moreover, this could be an opportunity to re-evaluate new "buried treasures" from the last decade, albums that were "criminally neglected" that nobody has ever heard of.
So, there I am. I'm proud to be the last one, worldwide, to present the album of the year, as chosen by this blog (i.e. by me). No, it's not because I'm a lazy sod sometimes, nor because I tend to skip my weekly update goal for good reasons such as to join just another children party. This was purely on the basis of (ehm) having enough time to listen to all the stockpiled albums and be absolutely sure for my final choice!
So, after this long prologue I'm declaring as album of the year the album with the great title (in terms of length as well...) "The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do", an adventurous recording, full of influences (from cabaret to Mellissa Etheridge) beautifully mixed together to create a unique result. Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes for allmusic: "Alone with her voice, piano, and percussionist Charley Drayton, Apple has nowhere to hide, nor does she give any indication she'd prefer to run. These spare but not skeletal arrangements -- each cut is subtly colored with harmonies, slight effects, overlapping rhythms, and additional keyboards -- never shift focus away from Fiona's magnetic vocals, the human element pulling us into these songs. (...) There are no singles here, nothing concise and concentrated to facilitate an easy sell. But that's not to say that The Idler Wheel is alienating. As elliptical as the melodies and words can be, the music is immediate and the songs unfold quickly, certain turns of phrase or thrilling runs swiftly seeping into the subconscious. Lacking either ornate production or a pop single, The Idler Wheel plays like Fiona Apple at her purest and that's plenty complicated: she takes no shortcuts or easy turns, her intent somewhat shrouded but never absent." I couldn't agree more.

The related upload was Fiona Apple's best album until her latest release, with the even greater title (again in terms of length) "When The Pawn Hits The Conflicts He Thinks Like A King What He Knows Throws The Blows When He Goes To The Fight And He'll Win The Whole Thing 'Fore He Enters The Ring There's No Body To Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand and Remember That Depth Is the Greatest of Heights and If You Know Where You Stand, Then You Know Where to Land and If You Fall It Won't Matter, Cuz You'll Know That You're Right". (The titles of Fiona Apple's albums could lead to a nervous breakdown the reviewer that was said by his/ her editor to write "a 200-word review").

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Paul McCartney - Ram (1971)

This is the last anniversary post (for now). We had 10 years since Joe Strummer left us, 20 years from the release of Slanted and Enchanted, 30 years from the first screening of Blade Runner, 40 years from the release of Ziggy Stardust, 50 years of Rolling Stones as a group, 60 years from the first issue of NME, the 80th birthday of Little Richard and 90 years from the birth of Jack Kerouac. It's obvious that a 70th anniversary is missing to fill in the row; Paul McCartney celebrated his 70th birthday some months ago, so there you go.

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PS For those interested, there is another Macca post, only some few months ago.

OST- Blade Runner (music comp. by Vangelis) - 25th anniversary edition

This is the second to last anniversary post. This time we remembered that there was the 30th anniversary from the first screening of one of the best science fiction movies ever, with one of the best scores of the 80's, containing one monumental End Titles theme.
The edition offered here was released to celebrate the film's... 25th anniversary. The first cd contains the same tracks with the soundtrack's first official release, the second cd contains previously unreleased music from the movie, and the third cd contains (then) new music inspired by (and in the spirit of) the movie composed also by Vangelis. Enjoy!

movie info

review links: here (for cd1) and here (for the 25th anniv. edition)

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Little Richard - Here's Little Richards (1957)

Happy new year to all of you!
Well, for the first posts of the year I'll continue dealing with issues occurred in 2012 but didn't have enough time for. So, here's the next anniversary post, dedicated to the 80th birthday of the legendary Little Richard. A nicely written overview of his career was written by him (!!) as part of the Fifty Greatest Artists of All Time special issue of Rolling Stone, in which he was ranked 8th:

"A lot of people call me the architect of rock & roll. I don't call myself that, but I believe it's true. You've got to remember, I was already known back in 1951. I was recording for RCA-Victor — if you were black, it was called Camden Records — before Elvis. Then I recorded for Peacock in Houston. Then Specialty Records bought me from Peacock — I think they paid $500 for me — and my first Specialty record was a hit in 1956: "Tutti Frutti." It was a hit worldwide. I felt I had arrived, you know? We started touring everywhere immediately. We traveled in cars. Back in that time, the racism was so heavy, you couldn't go in the hotels, so most times you slept in your car. You ate in your car. You got to the date, and you dressed in your car. I had a Cadillac. That's what the star rode in.
You remember the way that Liberace dressed onstage? I was dressing like that all the time, very flamboyantly, and I was wearing the pancake makeup. A lot of the other performers at that time — the Cadillacs, the Coasters, the Drifters — they were wearing makeup, too, but they didn't have any makeup kit. They had a sponge and a little compact in their pocket. I had a kit. Everybody started calling me gay.
People called rock & roll "African music." They called it "voodoo music." They said that it would drive the kids insane. They said that it was just a flash in the pan — the same thing that they always used to say about hip-hop. Only it was worse back then, because, you have to remember, I was the first black artist whose records the white kids were starting to buy. And the parents were really bitter about me. We played places where they told us not to come back, because the kids got so wild. They were tearing up the streets and throwing bottles and jumping off the theater balconies at shows. At that time, the white kids had to be up in the balcony — they were "white spectators." But then they'd leap over the balcony to get downstairs where the black kids were.
I didn't get paid — most dates I didn't get paid. And I've never gotten money from most of those records. And I made those records: In the studio, they'd just give me a bunch of words, I'd make up a song! The rhythm and everything. "Good Golly Miss Molly"! And I didn't get a dime for it. Michael Jackson owned the Specialty stuff. He offered me a job with his publishing company once, for the rest of my life, as a writer. At the time, I didn't take it. I wish I had now.
I wish a lot of things had been different. I don't think I ever got what I really deserved.
I appreciate being picked one of the top 100 performers, but who is number one and who is number two doesn't matter to me anymore. Because it won't be who I think it should be. The Rolling Stones started with me, but they're going to always be in front of me. The Beatles started with me — at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany, before they ever made an album — but they're going to always be in front of me. James Brown, Jimi Hendrix — these people started with me. I fed them, I talked to them, and they're going to always be in front of me.
But it's a joy just to still be here. I think that when people want joy and fun and happiness, they want to hear the old-time rock & roll. And I'm just glad I was a part of that."

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Various - A Motown Christmas (1973)

Merry Christmas out there...

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6 candles for the musictraveler

It was on Christmas of 2006 that this blog was starting. Thank you all.

Joe Strummer - His 80's soundtrack songs

10 years today without Joe Strummer. "His mentality, morality and talent remain a shining light", I was writing 5 years ago. I don't think there is anything more to add.
The offered upload contains Strummer songs from three 80's soundtracks: Permanent Record, Straight To Hell and Sid & Nancy. The soundtrack of Walker scored as a whole by Strummer will be the subject of a future post.



Tracklisting:
1. Trash City
2. Baby The Trans
3. Nefertiti Rock
4. Nothin' 'Bout Nothin'
5. Theme from Permanent Record
6. Evil Darling
7. Ambush At Mystery Rock
8. Love Kills
9. Dum Dum Club
Tracks 1-5 from Permanent Record OST, 6-7 from Straight To Hell OST and 8-9 from Sid & Nancy OST

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His first album, Earthquake Weather was the subject of an older post, while there is also a very interesting Strummer intreview to Andy Kershaw from 1999. The Clash were the subject of some posts as well: here, here and here

Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted 2002 deluxe reissue extras

This year it was the 20th anniversary from the release of the definitive indie album and one of my all-time favourites.
This relevant upload does not offer the album itself; I guess you have it, if you don't then you should. It offers though, among others, the Watery Domestic EP, two Peel sessions and their 1992 gig at Brixton Academy. Enjoy!

Slanted And Enchanted Turns 20

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An older Pavement post can be found here

Various - Ruby Trax: The NME's Roaring Forty (1992)

Yet another anniversary post... This time we celebrate the 60 years of New Musical Express. For their 60 years they issued a highly recommended special edition of the 60 most important albums of NME's lifetime. The list can be found here.
The relevant upload remembers a very interesting NME special release for their 40th birthday, 20 years ago. The concept was that a total of 40 number ones were covered by famous artists of the time. Enjoy!

Tracklisting:
A1-The Wonderstuff - Coz I Luv You
A2-Billy Bragg - When Will I See You Again?
A3-The Jesus And Mary Chain - Little Red Rooster
A4-The Mission - Atomic
A5-The Fatima Mansions - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
A6-St Etienne - Stranger In Paradise
B1-The Wedding Present - Cumberland Gap
B2-Aztec Camera with Andy Fairweather Low - Half As Nice
B3-Danni Minogue - Show You The Way To Go
B4-Welfare Heroine - Where Do You Go My Lovely?
B5-Blue Aeroplanes - Bad Moon Rising
B6-Senseless Things - Apache
B7-Teenage Fanclub - Mr Tambourine Man
C1-Carter USM - Another Brick In The Wall
C2-Blur - Maggie May
C3-Tears For Fears - Ashes To Ashes
C4-The House Of Love - Rock You Baby
C5-The Frank & Walters - I'm A Believer
C6-EMF - Shaddap You Face
C7-Suede - Brass In Pocket
D1-Tori Amos - Ring My Bell
D2-Kingmaker - Lady Madonna
D3-Marc Almond - Like A Prayer
D4-The Farm - Don't You Want Me?
D5-Ned's Atomic Dustbin - I've Never Been To Me
D6-Boy George - My Sweet Lord
E1-Jesus Jones - Voodoo Chile
E2-Bob Geldof - Sunny Afternoon
E3-Johnny Marr & Billy Duffy - The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
E4-Cud - Down Down
E5-The Fall - Legeng Of Xanadu
E6-Sinead O'Connor - Secret Love
E7-World Party - World Without Love
F1-Inspiral Carpets - Tainted Love
F2-Elektric Music - Baby Come Back
F3-Ride - The Model
F4-Vic Reeves - Vienna
F5-Tin Machine - Go Now
F6-Curve - I Feel Love
F7-Manic Street Preachers - Suicide Is Painless

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Jack Kerouac - Poetry for the Beat Generation (1959)

Continuing the anniversaries posts, this one is about Jack Kerouac, who would be 90 earlier this year. Apart from that, 2012 was also marked by Walter Salles's attempt to film the unfilmable "On the Road".
The offered upload is Kerouac's debut as a recording artist, with his friend Steve Allen providing the accompaniment at the piano.

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PS An older relevant post can be found here

Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street 2010 deluxe reissue extras

I couldn't miss to dedicate a post to the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones. The greatest rock b(r)and's birthday was celebrated with a greatest hits (plus a couple of new tracks) album, a new book and with a number of concerts.
As with the Ziggy Stardust post, I chose to upload some extras from their best album.

Tracklisting:
01-Pass The Wine (Sophia Loren)
02-Plundered My Soul
03-I'm Not Signifying
04-Following The River
05-Dancing In The Light
06-So Divine (Aladdin Story)
07-Loving Cup (alternate take)
08-Soul Survivor (alternate take)
09-Good Time Women
10-Title 5

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